Holocaust and Genocide Studies

18 Credit Hours

REQUIRED

HIS 545 Holocaust

HIS 546 Genocide in Modern History

Electives
(Four Courses)

Communication Studies

COM 503 Communication and Persuasive Influence

COM 505 Concepts and Criticism of Public Influence

Criminal Justice

CRJ 505 Nature of Crime and Delinquency

CRJ 555 Race, Class, and Crime

Literature and Film

EGE 409 Impact of Holocaust on German Literature and Film

ENG 573 Special Topics: Literature of the Holocaust

History

HIS 520 History of Racism, Bigotry, and Prejudice

HIS 523 History of Germany

HIS 535 Nationalism and Democracy in Europe, 1815-1914

HIS 536 Europe Since 1914

HIS 543 Jews in Modern European History

HIS 544 Final Solution in Europe

HIS 547 A-Socials and the Holocaust

HIS 548 Women in the Holocaust

HIS 549 American Perspectives on the Holocaust

HIS 602 Directed Readings in European History

HIS 651 Seminar

HIS 660 Field Studies

Philosophy

PHI 512 Ethical Theories

PHI 570 Bioethics

PHI 588 Philosophy of Human Rights

Psychology

PSY 509 Advanced Social Psychology

PSY 540 Multicultural Psychology

PSY 543 Psychology of Group Processes

The program in Holocaust and Genocide Studies deals not only with historical aspects of the Holocaust, but also with moral and political issues involved in the prevention of future genocides. It may be taken as one of the minors in the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Sciences programs.

Admission to the Program

An undergraduate in good standing at West Chester University may apply for a Minor in Holocaust Studies. Contact Dr. Jonathan Friedman, Director of the Holocaust/Genocide Education Center jfriedman@wcupa.edu or call 610-738-0486.

Holocaust Minor Advisement Sheet
(18 semester hours required)

Required Courses.9 Semester Hours. Take each of the following three courses
Course Number	Course Title	Offered
HIS 332	Holocaust	every semester
HIS 349	Jew in History	every year
PHI 180	Ethics	every semester
Elective Courses.9 Semester Hours. Take three courses selected from the following with the approval of the director of the Holocaust and Genocide Program:
ANT 120	Cultures of Ethnic Groups in America	offered every other fall
GER 221 or EGE 222	German Civilization	once a year
HIS 423	Modern Germany	offered fall semester
LIT 304	American Jewish Novel	once a year
PSC 252	Civil Liberties and Civil Rights	once a year
PSC322	Public Opinion, Propaganda and Political Behavior	once a year
PSY 254	Social Psychology	every semester
SOC 335	Racial and Cultural Minorities	once a year
SSC 480	Ethnic Cultures Workshop	every other year
SWO 225	Race Relations	every semester
EGE 409	Holocaust in German Literature and Film	every other year
PHI 411	Philosophy of War	once a year
PHI 481	Philosophy of Human Rights	every other year
WOS 225	Introduction to Women and Gender Studies	every semester
PAX 200	Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies	every semester

Other courses can be substituted at the discretion of the director. Total of 18 semester hours for required + elective courses

Since 1978, WCU has offered undergraduate classes in Holocaust studies. It is estimated that through the years 2,500 undergraduates have completed course work on the Holocaust at the university and in overseas classes. Added to this are over 500 graduate students in both graduate classes and at the Intermediate Center in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

Overview: Undergraduate Course Offerings

EGE 409 Impact of the Holocaust on German Literature and Film (3)
How propaganda (particularly film) contributed to the rise of Nazism. Postwar literature and films will be used to illustrate issues such as compliance to the regime, the role of the Vatican and legal institutions, individual and group responsibility, literary and cinematic representation of the Holocaust, guilt and the debates surrounding reconciliation, the contemporary relationship of Germany and Israel, and the legacy of the Holocaust for children of victims and perpetrators.

HIS 332 Holocaust (3)
Focuses on ethnic, nationalistic, economic, and religious causes of the Holocaust, including 20th-century Nazism, racism, and anti-Semitism, concluding with study of the Nuremburg trials.

HIS 349 The Jew in History (3)
Review of their 4,000 year history and of those civilizations that have welcomed the Jewish people. the study of the Jewish people in contemporary society is an important feature of the course.

HIS 423 Modern Germany (3)
Germany in the 19th and 20th centuries: Napoleonic Era, Rise of Prussia, nationalism and unification, imperialism and World War I, National Socialism, World War II, and divided Germany.

PHI 180 Introduction to Ethics (3)
Great ethical systems of history and their application to personal and social life. The right and the good; the nature of values; and critical dilemmas.

SOC 490 Topical Seminar in Sociology (3)
A topical seminar on the sociology of religion and the Holocaust.

Three overseas trips to Israel, the country that has more survivors than any other in the world, were taken during the past decade. Visited were historic sites as well as the world's most prominent Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem. Classes were held, field trips taken, as well as visits with survivors, survivors' children and grandchildren. The Netherlands, (Amsterdam) was also visited. Here one group toured the "home" of Anne Frank and her family.

Our most recent trip was to the sites of camps and ghettos in Germany, the Czech Republic, and Poland. Hotels, breakfast and most dinners were provided as well as land transportation and a university professor as the guide.

Current and Future Overseas Trips

Future trips are presently in the planning stages. Three credits (graduate or undergraduate) may be earned through preparation, site visits, and a course paper. For information contact Dr. Jonathan Friedman, Director of the WCU Holocaust and Genocide Education center at jfriedman@wcupa.edu or telephone (610)-436-2972.

Chester County Intermediate Unit Teacher's Workshop

Teacher Education Workshops are held frequently during summer sessions. Presenters are teachers in the public schools, professors, survivors, veterans, museum curators, librarians, and writers. A day trip to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. is included.

Admission to the ProgramTeachers may apply at the Chester County Intermediate Unit (610) 524-2431